Starbucks Now Selling Ramones “Rockaway Beach” Collection

Sign of the apocalypse #8,987,455: Starbucks is now selling a Ramones compilation.

We’ll repeat that for effect. Starbucks, a symbol of corporate latte culture that often ruins neighborhoods, is now peddling the punk pioneers in its coffee shops. Set alongside other predictable musical offerings, this so-called “opus collection” goes by the name of Rockaway Beach, and features a taste of their repertoire. It’s also available on the official website. A little late to the game, no? Punk sold out long ago anyway, so this isn’t a total shock. But still!

Brendan Kelly of the Montreal Gazette summed it up rather eloquently:

What kills me here though is how mainstream culture has embraced The Ramones in a way that never happened when the band was up and running, and Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee were alive.

But the thing is – The Ramones couldn’t buy a hit when they were alive. Unlike many others punk, they desperately wanted to top the charts. That’s what they were all about. They loved The Beatles, the Spector girl groups, Motown – all stuff that sold millions of records. But they were just too weird for the world in the late ’70s and ’80s.

I still remember the anger they generated. The people telling me they were a joke because they couldn’t play their instruments – as if playing your instrument well was ever important in rock’n’roll!

Now almost 40 years later, Blitzkrieg Bop plays at hockey rinks every night (or at least it does when hockey is being played), parents buy Ramones t-shirts for their toddlers, and Starbucks uses The Beatles of punk to sell lattes.

Grabba Grabba Latte!

Here’s the tracklist…if you care:

1. Rockaway Beach
2. I Wanna Be Sedated
3. Blitzkrieg Bop
4. California Sun
5. I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
6. Sheena Is a Punk Rocker
7. Slug
8. Don’t Come Close
9. Rock ’n’ Roll High School
10. Baby, I Love You
11. In the Park
12. Howling at the Moon (Sha-La-La)
13. My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes to Bitburg)
14. I Don’t Want to Grow Up
15. Life’s a Gas